Read to be Ready summer reading camps will be offered at Ashland City Elementary, East Cheatham Elementary and Kingston Springs Elementary in June 2018.

The Cheatham County School District has been awarded an $85,800 grant through the 2018 Read to be Ready Summer Grant program.

The program funds tuition-free, month-long literacy-focused summer camps that target rising first, second and third graders who are in need during the critical summer months.

The grant will allow the district to provide camps at three schools – Ashland City Elementary, East Cheatham Elementary and Kingston Springs Elementary.

The camps will run from June 4-29.

“We are excited about this opportunity to help strengthen and improve the academic needs of our students,” said Director of Schools Dr. Cathy Beck. “This is the second consecutive year the district has been awarded a Read to be Ready grant. The district hosted three successful camps in 2017, and we were able to serve 135 students. Those students took home a multitude of books, received individual instruction to improve their reading and writing skills and engaged in numerous enrichment activities.”

This year’s camps will provide students with access to at least 80 hours of literacy-focused instruction and enrichment, including field trips, during the summer.

Students selected to participate in the camps will be contacted by the district, and Family Nights will be held at each school in the spring to introduce the camps to their families.

Statewide, more than 7,700 students will benefit from the 2018 Read to be Ready Summer Grant program. In total, the Tennessee Department of Education awarded $8,860,000 to 203 grant recipients throughout the state.

Read to be Ready is a coordinated campaign launched by Governor Bill Haslam, First Lady Crissy Haslam and Commissioner Candice McQueen in February 2016 with the goal to increase third-grade reading proficiency in Tennessee to 75 percent by 2025 through a variety of initiatives.

The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the importance of reading, unite efforts to address low reading achievement, highlight best practices, and build partnerships.

Cheatham County School District does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, color, creed, religion, national origin or handicap in the operation of its educational programs and activities including employment practices.